1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to dispensing machines for financial documents and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for dispensing negotiable money orders and traveler's checks, as well as non-negotiable credit card and debit card receipts, at a plurality of locations.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of dispensing machines are available for producing financial instruments such as debit card charges, money orders, and traveler's checks. Some machines must be manually operated, and typically include movable printing elements and a printing control arm. When a money order or check is to be printed, for example, a clerk places a blank form in the machine, positions the printing elements according to the requested amount, and actuates the printing control arm. The printing control arm causes the printing elements to be pressed against the blank form, imprinting the requested amount. After the clerk or other authorized person endorses the money order, it is negotiable and can be redeemed by the indicated payee.
Such manually operated machines are very slow, do not provide much security against forgery or unauthorized use, depend on manual entry and reporting, and require the presence of a clerk. Because a clerk is required to operate the manual machine, a remote service location or after-hours service is impossible. Furthermore, transaction records must be manually entered to a data center or directly to the financial institution issuing the check. Accordingly, automatic dispensing machines have been created in which the operator of the machine is the person who wants the completed money order or traveler's check, and in which transaction records are automatically provided to the issuing financial institution. Security against unauthorized use is improved, and transaction records are more easily and accurately maintained.
Automatic dispensing machines are typically computer controlled and are connected to a data center or financial institution by communication lines over which data is sent and received. In operation, a user's identity and bank account information is verified and then the user indicates the requested amount of the money order or traveler's check. After the computer system has verified the user's available funds, the requested amount is printed on a blank, negotiable money order or traveler's check and the completed form is dispensed from the machine. At a predetermined time, typically the end of each business day, the machine prints out a summary of its day's transactions and provides the information to the data center or financial institution.
While such automatic dispensing machines are an improvement on previous manual methods, such machines can be somewhat slow in printing. Often, such machines use printers with standard dot matrix-type print heads that move along the length of the check and imprint the checks with the check amount in what is commonly referred to as portrait mode. In portrait mode, the print head travels across the check and prints alphanumeric characters that are readable in the direction of print head travel. That is, the characters are printed to be readable along a line that is perpendicular to the direction of paper travel. Ordinarily, the printer receives ASCII-type data designating the characters to be printed and includes the necessary data to activate the proper dot matrix print elements to form the characters and print them along the check and across the direction of paper travel. Thus, for example, the printer simply requires the 8-bit ASCII code for the letter "A" to print an "A" in portrait mode.
Alternatively, the checks can be dispensed lengthwise in what is commonly referred to as landscape mode. In landscape mode, the characters are printed to be readable along a line that is parallel to the direction of paper travel. Print heads must print across the direction of paper travel. Therefore, to print in landscape mode, a printer must perform a conversion routine to essentially rotate the characters relative to the line of printing so they come out on the paper so as to be readable in the direction of paper travel. Printing in landscape mode is not especially quick because of the conversion process and is often much slower than printing in portrait mode.
As an alternative to printing in portrait or landscape mode, the characters can be printed in what is known as graphics mode. In graphics mode, the character information provided to the printer indicates the particular dot matrix print elements that will be activated for printing. This is ordinarily used for printing graphic images from a video screen, for example, and is even slower than landscape mode. Graphics mode does not deal with a regular set of alphanumeric data, where the input for the letter "A" is simply the 8-bit ASCII code for an "A" but is a lengthy string of bits for activation of the proper individual printing elements. This mode is sometimes used when large, over-sized characters are desired in addition to conventional ASCII character sets. Graphics mode is typically even slower than landscape mode. The data sent to the printer in graphics mode is of relatively low information density when compared to the character-oriented portrait mode. Faster printing times would improve the performance of such automatic dispensing machines.
One of the advantages of automatic dispensing machines is that they automatically keep track of transaction data and periodically print out a summary of the day's transactions to provide a written record. Conventionally, a second printer is provided in the dispenser and prints a transaction summary in portrait mode on a roll of blank paper. Unfortunately, this means the dispensing machine must be loaded with both blank check forms and transaction summary paper. This requires inefficient duplication of printing elements and two kinds of paper supply.
Finally, automatic money order dispensing machines are not immune from tampering. Blank check forms are most conveniently provided as a series of checks separated by perforations and arranged in a fan-fold stack. When an imprinted check is being dispensed from the machine, one end of the check can be grabbed hold of and the stack of checks can be pulled out quickly before the dispenser has stopped the paper advancement. Extra blank check forms can sometimes be retrieved in this way and the blank checks can be filled in with desired amounts and then cashed by unwary clerks. Because the dispensing machines do not require a clerk for operation, such tampering can be carried out without the immediate knowledge of authorized personnel. While missing checks can be tracked by their serial numbers, the tampering might easily escape detection until the unauthorized checks have been cashed.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that there is a need for an automatic dispensing machine that can be used at a plurality of separate locations, can quickly and accurately print the necessary data on the face of a blank form, can print transaction summaries, and can do so without inefficient duplication of elements and supplies. The present invention satisfies this need.